D&D 5E (2024) What should the 15th Class be?

[Mind of tempest]

If the Ninja subclass was a Wizard subclass, you could then have something like the Shinobi in the Naruto anime. At 2nd level, you could give them some additional proficiencies in Light armor and weapons typically associated with the Monk. You could also have it where they gain bonus spells at 2nd level based off of their Nature Affinity (Air, Earth, Fire, Lightning and Water). As they go up in level, they could expand their Nature Affinity by picking up another element or two.

As for the rest of the subclass, it could be designed like the Bladesinger Wizard, but instead of having the Wizard lean Fighter, it instead leans towards the Rogue class.

The problem is that mystical martial arts is supposed to be monks thing but that is being held back by tradition and unwillingness to steal from new sources

 

[Paul Farquhar]

The problem is that mystical martial arts is supposed to be monks thing but that is being held back by tradition and unwillingness to steal from new sources

Yup, we should be bolder with what we have. The tattoo monk is ever so conventional and timid.

Also, players and DMs should be more open to refluffing. If it has the mechanics you want but the lore isn’t, then change the lore, it breaks nothing.

 

[aiouh]

I want something we have literally never seen before and interacts with the game in a way we never have interacted with.

Please no magic sword fighter, variation of barbarian, alternate spellbook caster that prepares spells and uses spell slot like resources and main actions to deal xd6 damage..

 

[Mind of tempest]

Yup, we should be bolder with what we have. The tattoo monk is ever so conventional and timid.

Also, players and DMs should be more open to refluffing. If it has the mechanics you want but the lore isn’t, then change the lore, it breaks nothing.

certainly some class need it to better be, the monk being derived from the mystical influences of east Asia should be better designed to do those fantasies as they start to mirror our own. They even have sub subgere for stuff where they take from Western fantasy.
Xianxia - Wikipedia

I want something we have literally never seen before and interacts with the game in a way we never have interacted with.

Please no magic sword fighter, variation of barbarian, alternate spellbook caster that prepares spells and uses spell slot like resources and main actions to deal xd6 damage..

okay then what do you want? I do not mean this insultingly I mean what do you want as that is more the question.

 

[mellored]

All just extra damage. 1E assassin instant death no save. Just make that % roll.

Max damage on a crit, once per short rest.

That's a 5% instant death to most creatures, 100% on unconscious targets.

Also. All high level rogue can put people unconcious, and then stab them while they are out. Still a subclass.

 

[mellored]

I want something we have literally never seen before and interacts with the game in a way we never have interacted with.

Such as?

 

[Corinnguard]

The problem is that mystical martial arts is supposed to be monks thing but that is being held back by tradition and unwillingness to steal from new sources

When it does come to the mystical martial arts, the monk does seem to be the go-to class for this particular concept. Using another class for the ninja would require some out-of-the-box thinking. Something a 3pp is more likely to do.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

Half caster int based. Something like 4E Swordnage or 3.5 duskblade is lacking in 5E.

EKs good not so much at blending magic with weapons though.

How much better at fighting do you see it as the bladesinger? D&D is a level 1-10 game for all intents and purposes. The bladesinger already fights as well as a fighter in 95% of games. Threading that needle is going to be virtually impossible, given there's already a half caster gish (artificer) that fights as well as a fighter.

Part of it is the crappy design of the fighter class, which had to be made so simple a potato could play it.

 

[SkidAce]

The warlord is unpopular because of a bunch of nonsense arguments about realism in a game that absolutely sucks at simulating anything. They also seemed to come from old grumps, so I don;t know how much WOTC should bother catering to the 60+ OSR crowd. Most of them seem to hate WOTC anyways.

I'm feeling attacked here.

 

[SkidAce]

Ninja = Shadow Monk / Rogue multiclass.

Assassin = Not sure if any change is needed, still reading 5e24.